Dolfona S. Grayson, 29, and Walter Tyler Morse, 30, are charged with second-degree manslaughter in the death of 10-year-old J’Vieon Grayson-Sutton on June 13 by a synthetic opioid overdose in Churchville.

Grayson is the boy's mother, and Morse was her boyfriend.

Bothwere arraigned Thursday before Monroe County Court Judge John L. DeMarco. They are due back in court on Feb. 1. Grayson was released to electronic home monitoring, while Morse was ordered held without bail. Their trial is tentatively scheduled to begin June 14.

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Sheriff Patrick O'Flynn says deputies are investigating the death of a boy Tuesday. (June 13, 2017)
Will Cleveland

Morse has been held in the Monroe County Jail since November, charged with attempted murder and second-degree assault of the boy's biological father, Michael Coles. Authorities say that Morse attempted to shoot Coles on Borchard Street in Rochester in October to prevent him from testifying in the case.

More details of the alleged attempted murder weren't revealed during the arraignment. Morse is charged in a 15-count indictment and also faces a number of drug charges, including criminal possession of cocaine and heroin.

A neighbor called 911 about 9:30 the night before because a 6-year-old boy from the home ran to the neighbor and told the neighbor to contact deputies. The neighbor administered CPR with instructions from a dispatcher. Assistant District Attorney Sara Van Strydonck said the boys were left home unattended without "means of communication."

The 6-year-old found his half-brother J’Vieon unconscious. Deputies found the 10-year-old unresponsive and started life-saving techniques, O'Flynn said.

J’Vieon was taken to Strong Memorial Hospital where he ultimately died.

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O'Flynn said in June that deputies found a powdery substance in the home. Deputies were able to process and secure the substance. Field tests came back inconclusive, O'Flynn said.

Because it was a form of fentanyl and there is a risk of inhalation, deputies were instructed to package it up safely and send it into a lab for testing and identification, according to Capt. Doug Comanzo of the Monroe County Sheriff's Office.

The boys' mother, Grayson, reportedly went to work around 4 p.m., O'Flynn said, leaving the boys under the supervision of her boyfriend. Morse is the father of the 6-year-old boy, O'Flynn said.

"They were going to go for a boat ride or something, and the boat didn't work," O'Flynn said in June. "The boyfriend then went and did some errands, leaving the two alone for at least an hour or so."

Authorities interviewed Morse the night of the incident, Comanzo said. Comanzo wouldn't comment on if Morse was allegedly selling drugs out of the apartment. He added, "With the amount of product he had there, it would indicate some sort of illegal activity."

Van Strydonck said J’Vieon had a "compulsive behavior" and would ingest things around the two-bedroom apartment. Van Strydonck said food had to be locked up in the home to prevent J’Vieon from ingesting it.

According to Grayson’s statements, J’Vieon had ingested an entire bottle of hot sauce a few weeks before his death and had to go to hospital for treatment. Grayson denied having knowledge of drugs in the apartment.

Grayson is being represented by Michael Schiano. Schiano said Grayson was at work as a certified nursing assistant when her son allegedly ingested the drug. He said Grayson works six days a week.

Paul Guerrieri, attorney for Morse, said, "We don't have any comment at this point." He added his first contact with Morse was on Wednesday.

Van Strydonck called it a "tragic, avoidable death." She said a joint investigation, including assistance from the Greater Rochester Area Narcotics Enforcement Team (GRANET), led to the charges.

"I can promise you that while this happens, that we're doing our job right," she said. "...I can assure you and promise you that we don't stop working because the death happened or the death isn't ruled yet."

Comanzo said it was a lengthy investigation. "Our belief is that any type of illegal substances would be well known by all the participants in that location," he said.

He said the alleged attempted murder of Coles allowed authorities to take Morse into custody "sooner than we were ready for."